“Thank you,” Chloe dropped to her knees. She had a crazy urge to laugh. Though she couldn’t see Maxwell, she had a suspicion that her face was right in front of his crotch. Then the urge to laugh disappeared, and she blushed. Desperate to ensure Maxwell didn’t guess what she was thinking, she plunged ahead, crawling through the passageway until—
The sweet smell of fresh air, the glimmer of moonlight through the trees, and the sight of Maxwell’s Range Rover parked just down the road. Chloe wanted to sing, or shout, or do a wild jig of joy. She was free. She was out of the cave.
There was a thump from behind her, and she turned to see the stalagmite they had collected – stolen, really – roll out of the cave entrance, followed closely by Maxwell himself. His face was scuffed with grime, and the knees of his jeans were wet and dirty. Not like his usually slick and well-groomed self at all.
But Chloe didn’t think she had ever seen him look more deliciously enticing. Maxwell not only scrubbed up well but roughed up good. She didn’t know how long she stood there, staring at him with her mouth open.
“Feeling better?” Maxwell asked with a quirk of his mouth.
“Oh, um, yes,” Chloe said quickly, her cheeks reddening again. “Much better. Thank you. I…I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” Maxwell told her. “If it wasn’t for me, you would never have had to do that in the first place.”
“Well, if it wasn’t for me, the curse wouldn’t have activated,” Chloe retorted, remembering very vividly that it had been Maxwell looking at her with a heart full of lustful desire that had set off the curse in the first place.
Maxwell laughed. “Very noble of you to take the blame.”
“Just let me thank you, okay?” Chloe insisted. “You…you really saved me in there.”
And Maxwell didn’t tease her, not this time. “You’re welcome, Chloe,” he said quietly. She liked the way her name sounded in his mouth. Like it was something almost sacred. But then he shook his head. “You know, I think it would be good for you to relax sometimes. Let off some steam. Your work ethic is incredible, but you’re carrying a whole lot of stress. It can’t be good for you.”
“Oh yeah?” Chloe raised her eyebrows as they walked back to his car, the stalagmite slung under his arm.
“Definitely,” Maxwell said it like it was a fact. “It’s good for the soul, having fun.”
“You’re the expert,” Chloe said. “You’ll have to teach me sometime.”
“I’d be honoured,” he said, in a voice that was somewhere between teasing, flirting, and deadly serious.
When Chloe got into her bed in the wee hours of the morning, adrenaline still coursing through her, she didn’t even try to stop herself from thinking about Maxwell. She replayed, in her mind, the feeling of his big hands on her arms, holding her tight. His voice, confident and authoritative, telling her she was strong, brave, that she could do this. Calling her a good girl.
And if those thoughts kept her very well entertained before she fell asleep, well, she was only human.
Even if the man she couldn’t stop thinking about wasn’t.
“I thought you’d never use this pamper package,” Julia said, sighing in pleasure as she dipped her feet into a tub of warm water. “I thought I’d have to trick you into coming here and then tie you down and force you to relax.”
Chloe laughed. “Am I that bad?”
“You absolutely are,” Julia said, but she said it with great affection. “So, what’s with the change of heart when it comes to self-care?”
“Well, after last night, I needed to do something nice,” Chloe said. “And Maxwell told me I’m carrying too much stress, that I need to relax and enjoy myself sometimes.”
“Um, I’ve been telling you that for years!” Julia was outraged. “Why did you listen just because it’s coming from him? Wait, don’t answer that. I know exactly why. It’s because he’s a big hunky vampire, and I’m just your best friend.”
“It’s got nothing to do with that!” Chloe said, even though it absolutely did. “Just, with what happened, with me freaking out in the cave, I realised he was probably right about me being a bit highly strung.”
“Oh yes, the cave, where he swept you off your feet in those big strong arms and saved you—”
“I walked out of that cave myself!” Chloe insisted. “Okay, so yes, he did have to guide me, but that was because my stupid torch broke.”
“He did save you, though,” Julia pointed out. “And you liked it. Admit it.”
Chloe scrunched up her face, trying to stay still as the beautician applied a neat layer of red polish to her toenails. “Maybe a little,” she confessed.
“Maybe a lot!” Julia looked delighted. “You’re totally falling for him! Miss Independence, I don’t need a man! All it took was for the right one to come along, and you’re swooning all over the place like Scarlett O’Hara.”
“Scarlett only ever swooned strategically,” Chloe argued, although that wasn’t the point. “He’s not the right man, though.” She voiced the fear in her mind. “I mean, how can he be? He’s…you know.” She didn’t say the word vampire for fear of making their conversation entirely too interesting to the beauticians painting their toenails. “We’re very different.”
“So?” Julia was unconvinced. “It sounds like he really likes you. Always telling you how brave and strong and determined you are. And then there’s the whole lust thing that started this off.”
“I don’t think he means any of that seriously,” Chloe shook her head. “Come on, Julia. He’s rich, he looks like that, he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. He must have had hundreds of women. Maybe even thousands. Just because he’s flirty, I’m not going to let myself think it means anything serious.”
“Then bring him out for dinner so I can meet him and tell you whether he’s serious,” Julia said. “Plus, Harriet and Jude are good at reading people. They can always tell when I’m not being completely honest.”
“That’s never going to happen,” Chloe said flatly. “Besides, I don’t want to share you guys with anyone.”
“Ooh, flattery will get you nowhere,” Julia said. “Having said that, the kiddos are super excited that you’re coming over tonight. They think it’s very funny that Auntie Chloe is at the beauty salon.”
“Why is that funny?” Chloe frowned. “I like beauty!”
“You like the kind that you can do yourself while working,” Julia said. “Like I said, I nearly fell off my chair when you called me this morning.”
“I just thought your tour might have been cancelled with all this rain,” Chloe shrugged. “And I had a viewing postponed, so…”
“And you decided to get pampered instead of finding more work for yourself,” Julia finished. “This Maxwell is having quite an effect on you.”
Before Chloe could say anything else, the beautician swiped a final coating of cuticle oil over her toes. “All finished!” she said, beaming. “Now you’re ready for your massage.”
“Enjoy,” Julia grinned. “I’ll see you in there, okay? Try to relax.”
But Chloe knew that even though her sore, tense muscles needed the massage now more than ever, she’d be wishing that it was a very different set of hands all over her body. Not that she’d admit that to Julia.